Generation of tool paths for shoe assembly

ABSTRACT

A tool path for treating a shoe upper may be generated to treat substantially only the surface of the shoe bounded by a bite line. The bite line may be defined to correspond to the junction of the shoe upper and a shoe bottom unit. Bite line data and three-dimensional profile data representing at least a portion of a surface of a shoe upper bounded by a bite line may be utilized in combination to generate a tool path for processing the surface of the upper, such as automated application of adhesive to the surface of a lasted upper bounded by a bite line.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/733,008, filed on Jan. 2, 2020, and titled “Generation ofTool Paths for Shoe Assembly,” which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/084,365, filed on Nov. 19, 2013, and titled“Generation of Tool Paths for Shoe Assembly,” now issued as U.S. Pat.No. 10,552,551, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/299,827, filed on Nov. 18, 2011, and titled“Automated 3-D Modeling of Shoe Parts,” now issued as U.S. Pat. No.8,849,620, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in theentirety.

This application is also related by subject matter to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/084,359, filed on Nov. 19, 2013, and titled“Conditionally Visible Bite Lines for Footwear,” now issued as U.S. Pat.No. 9,237,780, which is also incorporated herein by reference in theentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects hereof relate to the automated manufacturing of articles offootwear. More particularly, aspects hereof relate to the generation oftool paths for the processing of parts in the automated manufacturing ofshoes.

BACKGROUND

Because of the pliable and bending nature of many materials typicallyused in manufacturing articles of footwear, and, more particularly,athletic shoes, the automated processing of shoe parts in themanufacturing process poses difficulties. The inherent properties ofmaterials used in constructing articles of footwear, and, moreparticularly, athletic shoes, results in the optimal tool paths forperforming processes on shoe parts or partially assembled shoe partsvarying from shoe to shoe. Because of the performance demands andconsumer expectations for shoes, particularly athletic shoes, even asmall deviation from an optimal tool path may result in an unacceptableshoe or a shoe that will fail under anticipated wear conditions. Forexample, the application of adhesives to join a shoe upper to acorresponding bottom unit (e.g., a joined midsole and outsole assembly)must be performed at the appropriate locations on the portions of theshoe upper that will contact the corresponding bottom unit. Inadequatecoverage of the desired portions of the shoe upper may lead to thefailure of the resulting shoe due to the separation of the bottom unitfrom the upper. While the potential for failure may be addressed byapplying an increased amount of adhesives, the over-use of an adhesiveis wasteful, expensive, potentially detrimental to the resulting bondingstrength because of an incomplete curing process, and potentiallydamaging to the environment. Further, applying an increased amount ofadhesive may lead to the presence of adhesive material outside of thedesired adhesive area, which may result in the discoloration or soilingof the shoe, rendering the shoe unacceptable to consumers. For reasonssuch as these, many aspects of the manufacturing of shoes has remainedan intensively manual process.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Aspects hereof generally relate to the automated generation of toolpaths for the processing of parts during the automated manufacturing ofarticles of footwear. More particularly, aspects hereof relate to thegeneration of tool paths for the application of adhesives to a shoeupper for use in joining the shoe upper to a corresponding bottom unitor sole assembly. Systems and methods in accordance herewith may be usedfor the generation of tool paths for tools other than adhesiveapplicators, such as buffers, primers, cleaners, painters, and the like.Such tools may clean, prepare, or otherwise treat a portion, butgenerally not all, of a shoe part. Further, systems and methods inaccordance herewith may be used for generating tool paths for componentsbeyond shoe uppers and shoe sole assemblies.

Systems and methods in accordance herewith may demarcate a bite line toindicate a first surface region on a shoe upper. A shoe upper may belasted and retained against a corresponding bottom unit or, more likely,a representation thereof, with a predetermined amount of force. (Itshould be noted that, in processing, a representation of a correspondingbottom unit often may be utilized rather than the bottom unit itself sothat a single bottom unit representation may be utilized to process aplurality of shoe uppers.) Force may be applied to the lasted upper atone or more points using one or more mechanisms. Force may alternativelyor additionally be applied to the bottom unit representationcorresponding to the lasted upper. A bottom unit may comprise a singleitem or a plurality of items, such as an outsole and a midsole layer,potentially with additional components to provide cushioning, motioncontrol, etc. The amount of pressure applied to retain the lasted upperagainst the corresponding bottom unit representation may vary based uponthe types of materials used in both the upper and the correspondingbottom unit upon shoe assembly, the strength of the bond desired, thetypes of bonding material to be used, and the amount of forceanticipated to be applied during the bonding process, or otherconsiderations. In many examples, the predetermined amount of force usedto retain the lasted upper against a corresponding bottom unitrepresentation during the demarcation of a bite line will be the same orsimilar to the amount of force applied to adhere the lasted upper to thecorresponding bottom unit during subsequent manufacturing steps in orderfor the bite line to accurately correspond to the junction point betweenthe upper and the bottom unit after bonding.

The demarcated bite line generally corresponds to the junction of thelasted upper and the bottom unit representation when retained togetherwith the predetermined amount of force. The bite line thus marked maydefine at least a first surface region and a second surface region onthe surface of the lasted upper. The first surface region defined on thesurface of the lasted shoe upper may be bounded by the bite line and maycorrespond to the portion of the surface of the lasted shoe upper thatis covered by the bottom unit representation when the lasted shoe upperis retained against the bottom unit representation with a predeterminedamount of force. The second surface region defined by the bite line maycorrespond to the portions of the surface of the lasted upper that arenot covered by the bottom unit representation when the lasted upper isretained against the bottom unit representation with a predeterminedamount of force. Ultimately, an adhesive may be applied substantiallywithin the first surface region, but not to the second surface regionusing one or more tool paths that may be generated using systems andmethods in accordance herewith.

A bite line marked in accordance with systems and methods hereof maytake a variety of forms. For example, a bite line may be marked byforming indicia on the lasted shoe upper while the lasted shoe upper isretained against the corresponding bottom unit representation with apredetermined amount of force. A pen, pencil, scribing tool thatproduces an indentation in the material of the upper, or any other typeof mark may be used to create such a perceivable bite line. Aperceivable bite line may be visible to a human and/or to a computervision system using at least one camera in the detection of theperceivable bite line. In some examples, a perceivable bite line may bea conditionally visible bite line. For example, a fluorescent markingagent, such as a fluorescent ink, or an Infrared (IR) marking agent,that is not perceptible to human eyes under normal lighting conditionsmay be used to create indicia on the lasted shoe upper to form aconditionally perceivable bite line. By using selected illumination,such as a black light or IR light, as appropriate, the resulting indiciaof the bite line may be perceived by at least one camera and/or humanoperators during the manufacturing process, without risking thediscoloration of a shoe to render it unacceptable to ultimate consumersviewing the shoe under typical lighting conditions. In aspects,conditionally visible indicia illuminated by light of an appropriatespectrum may be detected by a first camera and a second camera, imagesfrom the first and second cameras being combined to create the resultingbite line data.

Other examples of bite lines in accordance herewith may comprise virtualbite lines that do not leave physical indicia on the lasted shoe upper.For example, a stylus used in conjunction with a three-dimensionalrepresentation system may be moved along the junction between the lastedshoe upper and the corresponding bottom unit representation to create avirtual bite line. Another example of the creation of a virtual biteline may utilize a light source projected across the lasted shoe upper,the corresponding bottom unit representation, and the junction of thelasted shoe upper and corresponding bottom unit representation. Thediscontinuity in the reflection of the light at the junction between theupper surface and the bottom unit surface may be used to generate avirtual bite line. However created, data representing a virtual biteline may be stored in a computer-readable media and used in accordancewith aspects hereof as one measure representing the first surface regionof the surface of the lasted upper which will be processed by asubsequently generated tool path.

As another measure representing the first surface region of the surfaceof the lasted upper which will be processed by a subsequently generatedtool path, at least part of the surface of the lasted upper may bescanned to generate profile data representing at least the first surfaceregion in three dimensions. For example, a light source may be projectedacross at least a portion of the first surface region of the surface ofthe lasted upper after the lasted upper has been removed from thecorresponding bottom unit representation. At least one camera may detectthe reflection of the light from the surface of the lasted upper from atleast a portion of the first surface region. Data representing the biteline may then be combined with the three dimensional upper surface dataand used to include, exclude or otherwise regard or disregard datarepresenting the surface of the lasted upper that is inside or outsideof the first surface region, as appropriate, in generating a tool path.For example, the intersection of the projected light and indiciacorresponding to the bite line provided on the lasted upper may bedetected by the at-least one camera detecting the reflection of thelaser from the surface of the lasted upper. Alternatively/additionally,a virtual bite line may be compared to the three-dimensional profiledata generated from detecting the reflection of the laser from thesurface of the lasted upper, with data for locations on the surface ofthe lasted upper outside of the first surface region as defined by thevirtual bite line data excluded or otherwise disregarded in generating atool path. In detecting the reflected light from the surface of thelasted upper, at least one camera may be used. The use of more than onecamera may provide increasingly detailed data regarding thethree-dimensional surface of the lasted upper. In some examples, twocameras may be used to detect the reflected light from the surface ofthe lasted upper.

Systems and methods in accordance herewith may utilize a computingsystem executing computer-readable code to generate data representingthe surface of the lasted upper from the three-dimensional profile dataprovided by at least one camera detecting the light reflected from thesurface of the first surface region and/or the virtual bite line data.The same or a different computing system may execute computer executablecode to perform a method to generate a tool path based upon acombination of the bite line data representing the bounds of the firstsurface region and the three-dimensional data representing the surfaceof the lasted upper within the first surface region. Different types oftools performing different types of processing on different types ofshoes made of different types of materials may require different toolpaths. In some examples, the tool may comprise a spray nozzle thatapplies a spray adhesive to the lasted upper for the ultimate bonding ofthe upper to the corresponding bottom unit. In such an example, the toolpath may maintain the tool head at a desired distance and/or orientationrelative to the surface of the lasted upper. For example, a tool pathmay maintain the spray nozzle at an orientation that will projectadhesive onto the surface at a substantially perpendicular angle, suchas between 80 and 100 degrees, and at a relatively constant distance,such as within one-half centimeter to two centimeters. In furtherexamples, the distance may be maintained as approximately onecentimeter, with a 10% variation permitted. The orientation relative tothe surface, distance from the surface, and/or other properties of thetool path may be varied at different portions of the tool path, ifdesired.

Different types of tool paths may be required for different types ofshoe parts, different shoes, different materials, etc. In the example ofusing a spray-on adhesive to bond a lasted shoe upper to a correspondingbottom unit, a tool path may provide processing to the perimeter of thefirst surface region to establish a strong bond near the edges of thebottom unit with less coverage provided within the interior of the firstsurface region, where bonding is less critical. However, systems andmethods hereof are not limited to any particular type of tool, type oftool path, or particular tool path.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is described in detail herein with reference tothe attached drawing figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a lasted shoeupper and corresponding bottom unit in accordance with an aspect hereof;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a bite line ona lasted shoe upper in accordance with an aspect hereof;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of scanning of thesurface of a lasted shoe upper in accordance with an aspect hereof;

FIG. 4 is a top elevation view illustrating a further example ofscanning the surface of a lasted shoe upper in accordance with an aspecthereof;

FIG. 5 is a top elevation view illustrating a further example ofscanning the surface of a lasted shoe upper in accordance with an aspecthereof;

FIG. 6A illustrates an example of a tool path generated for processingthe surface of a lasted shoe upper in accordance with an aspect hereof;

FIGS. 6B-6D illustrate examples of a tool portion having variedorientation and position arrangement for a generated tool path inaccordance with aspects hereof;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of the creation of a virtual bite line ona lasted shoe upper in accordance with an aspect hereof;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary system forgenerating a tool path in accordance with an aspect hereof;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating another exemplary system forgenerating a tool path in accordance with an aspect hereof;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating another exemplary system forgenerating a tool path in accordance with an aspect hereof;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for treatinga surface of an article of footwear in accordance with aspects hereof;

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram illustrating another exemplary method anexemplary method for treating a surface of an article of footwear inaccordance with aspects hereof;

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method forgenerating a tool path in accordance with aspects hereof;

FIG. 14 is a depiction of a three-dimensional point cloud representationof a surface mapping of a lasted upper surface combined with athree-dimensional digital bite line representation, in accordance withaspects hereof;

FIG. 15 is a graphical flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method forcapturing a three-dimensional surface mapping of a lasted upper and athree-dimensional digital bite line representation for use in generatinga robotic tool path in accordance with aspects hereof; and

FIG. 16 is a cross sectional view of an exemplary lasted upper ascaptured by a bite line scanning system and a three-dimensional scanningsystem, in accordance with aspects hereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects hereof provide systems and methods for processing shoe parts andgenerating tool paths for processing parts in the shoe manufacturingprocess. In examples described herein, the tool paths generated are usedin the bonding of a shoe upper to a shoe sole assembly or bottom unit.However, aspects hereof may be used for generating other types of toolpaths and for the processing of other portions of an article offootwear. For example, aspects hereof may be useful for generating toolpaths to buff, clean, prime, paint, or otherwise process surfaces in themanufacturing process of soft goods such as shoes.

While the examples of shoe uppers and shoe bottom units are presented ina simplified fashion for exemplary purposes herein, in practice a shoeupper may comprise a large number of individual parts, often formed fromdifferent types of materials. The components of a shoe upper may bejoined together using a variety of adhesives, stitches, and other typesof joining components. A shoe bottom unit may often comprise a shoe soleassembly with multiple components. For example, a shoe bottom unit maycomprise an outsole made of a relatively hard and durable material, suchas rubber, that contacts the ground, floor, or other surface. A shoebottom unit may further comprise a midsole formed from a material thatprovides cushioning and absorbs force during normal wear and/or athletictraining or performance. Examples of materials often used in midsolesare, for example, ethylene vinyl acetate foams, polyurethane foams, andthe like. Shoe soles may further have additional components, such asadditional cushioning components (such as springs, air bags, and thelike), functional components (such as motion control elements to addresspronation or supination), protective elements (such as resilient platesto prevent damage to the foot from hazards on the floor or ground), andthe like. While these and other components that may be present in a shoeupper and/or a shoe bottom unit are not specifically described inexamples herein, such components may be present in articles of footwearmanufactured using systems and methods in accordance with aspectshereof.

Referring now to FIG. 1 , an exemplary system in accordance with aspectshereof is illustrated and designated generally as reference numeral 100.In the illustrated system 100, a shoe upper 110 has been placed on alast 120. The last 120 may apply a predetermined amount of force,optionally in conjunction with an additional member 122 to retain thelasted upper 110 against a corresponding bottom unit or a representation130 of a corresponding bottom unit. It should be noted that, inprocessing, a representation 130 of a corresponding unit often may beutilized rather than the bottom unit itself so that a single bottom unitrepresentation 130 may be utilized to process a plurality of shoeuppers. A bottom unit representation 130 may emulate the actualmaterials, size, shape, contours, etc. of the corresponding bottom unitthat will be applied to the shoe upper 110 upon assembly of the shoe.Further, it is contemplated that the bottom unit representation 130 maybe formed from a material different from that which is typically usedfor the bottom unit. For example, a more durable and rigid material mayform at least a portion of the bottom unit representation as thefunction of the bottom unit representation 130 is to provide a guide forapplying a bite line marking in a repeated production process. This isin contrast to a functional purpose of the actual bottom unit, which isgenerally provided for impact attenuation, support, and traction, amongother reasons.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 1 , the bottom unit representation130 and the lasted upper 110 may be rotated as indicated by arrow 135while contacted by a marking mechanism 140 having a marking tip at ajunction 112 between the lasted upper 110 and the bottom unitrepresentation 130. In the illustrated example, the marking mechanism140 may comprise a marking mechanism that utilizes a conditionallyvisible marking agent applicable via the marking tip to applyconditionally visible indicia on the lasted upper 110 at the junctionbetween lasted upper 110 and bottom unit representation 130. Moreparticularly, the marking mechanism 140 may comprise a marking mechanismwith one of a fluorescent marking tip and an IR marking tip that appliesfluorescent indicia or IR indicia, respectively, at the junction 112between the lasted upper 110 and the bottom unit representation 130 tocreate a conditionally visible bite line observable only under lightingconditions permitting the conditionally visible indicia to be detected.

Because the lasted upper 110 and/or corresponding bottom unitrepresentation 130 may often be formed from pliable and/or compressiblematerials, the location of a bite line on the surface of the lastedupper 110 may vary based upon the amount of force or pressure used tomate the lasted upper 110 with the corresponding bottom unitrepresentation 130. The predetermined amount of force applied by thesystem 100 during the marking of a conditionally visible bite line usingthe marking mechanism 140 may be the same force applied when ultimatelybonding the lasted upper 110 to the bottom unit represented by thebottom unit representation 130, but may be different than the forceapplied during bonding without departing from the scope hereof. Forexample, if the bottom unit representation 130 is formed from a materialdifferent than the intended bottom unit, the amount of force to beapplied may be adjusted to compensate for a different amount ofcompressibility between the materials. Further, it is contemplated thatthe size of the bottom unit representation 130 may actually be variedfrom that of the bottom unit to be applied as the size may compensatefor variances in compressibility, deformability, or even the thicknessof the tip 142.

Referring now to FIG. 2 , the lasted upper 110 has been removed from thecorresponding bottom unit representation 130. As shown in FIG. 2 , aconditionally visible bite line 210 has been marked on the lasted upper110. The conditionally visible bite line 210 may not be perceivableduring all lighting conditions, the lighting conditions under which theconditionally visible bite line 210 is perceivable depending upon themarking agent used to mark the bite line 210. For example, theconditionally visible bite line 210 may only be visible when illuminatedby a UV light source (e.g., a black light), an IR light source, oranother lighting source that causes the marking agent used to apply theindicia of the conditionally visible bite line 210 to be detectable. Inone example, the conditionally visible bite line 210 may comprise anindicia formed from a fluorescent marking agent (e.g., ink) such thatthe conditionally visible bite line 210 may be perceived whenilluminated using a black light. In another example, the conditionallyvisible bite line 210 may comprise an indicia formed from an IR markingagent such that the conditionally visible bite line 210 may be perceivedwhen illuminated using an IR light source. Any and all such variations,and any combination thereof, are contemplated to be within the scope ofaspects hereof.

Still referring to FIG. 2 , the conditionally visible bite line 210defines a first surface region 214 and a second surface region 212 onthe surface of the lasted shoe upper 110. The first surface region 214corresponds to the portion of the surface of the lasted upper 110 thatwas covered by the bottom unit representation 130 when the lasted upper110 was retained against the corresponding bottom unit representation130 with a predetermined amount of force. Meanwhile, the second surfaceregion 212 corresponds to the portion of the surface of the lasted upper110 that was not covered by the corresponding bottom unit representation130 when the lasted upper 110 was pressed against the correspondingbottom unit representation 130 with the predetermined amount of force.Accordingly, any processing intended to bond the bottom unit representedby the bottom unit representation 130 to the lasted upper 110 should beperformed within the first surface region 214 bounded by theconditionally visible bite line 210. Further, any processing that maychange the appearance of the surface of the lasted upper 110 that isperformed in the second surface region 212 may result in changesobservable in the finished shoe, while processing performed within thefirst surface region 214 may not be ultimately observable after the shoehas been assembled by bonding the lasted upper 110 to the correspondingbottom unit represented by the bottom unit representation 130.

The example of FIG. 2 illustrates only one example of the location of aconditionally visible bite line 210 on the surface of a shoe upper 110.The orientation, position, and configuration of a conditionally visiblebite line in accordance with the present invention may vary greatly fromthat shown in the example of FIG. 2 . For some shoe designs, the bottomunit represented by the bottom unit representation 130 may mate with theupper 110 in a fashion that extends the bottom unit 130 over a greaterportion of the upper 110, resulting in a conditionally visible bite line210 located further from the bottom of the upper 110 (e.g., closer to aforefoot opening and/or an ankle opening). For other shoe designs, theentirety of the bottom unit represented by the bottom unitrepresentation 130 may be largely or entirely below the upper 110,resulting in a conditionally visible bite line 210 that is entirely orlargely on the bottom surface of the upper 110 (e.g., proximate astrobel board in a strobel construction technique). In other examples,the extent to which a bottom unit represented by the bottom unitrepresentation 130 extends up an upper 110 when mated may vary along thejunction of the upper 110 and bottom unit representation 130, resultingin a conditionally visible bite line 210 that is not parallel with thebottom of the upper 110. Further it is contemplated that theconditionally visible bite line 210 may extend farther from the bottomunit in certain areas, such as a toe region and/or a heel region. Inthis example, the bottom unit may cover a greater portion of the upper110 in these areas to provide structural benefits, such as abrasionresistance or improved ground-contacting surface (e.g., traction).

The shape of the upper 110 at the junction between the upper 110 and thebottom unit representation 130 may also vary from that shown in theexample of FIG. 2 , meaning that the conditionally visible bite line 210may be created on a portion of the shoe upper 110 that is flat, convex,concave, or possessing a complex three dimensional curvature. Systemsand methods in accordance herewith may provide and utilize conditionallyvisible bite lines in all of these and other configurations of a shoeupper and/or bottom unit.

Referring now to FIG. 3 , illustrating an exemplary three-dimensionalsurface scan having a light source 370 that may project a light 372 suchthat a reflected portion 374 reflects across a segment of at least thefirst surface region 214 of the surface of the lasted upper 110 and thesecond surface region 212. In the example depicted in FIG. 3 , a strobel310 has been joined to the upper 110 by a stitch 312 to enclose andcontain the last 120. In the example illustrated, the strobel 310 iscontained within the first surface region 214 of the lasted shoe upper110 and, therefore, will ultimately be covered after shoe assembly. Insome examples, the lasted upper 110 may use closure structures differentthan strobel 310, but in many athletic shoes some type of strobel, suchas the strobel 310, are used to enclose the upper 110 to permit theinsertion of the last 120 to appropriately expand the upper 110 over thelast 120.

Still referring to FIG. 3 , at least one camera 380 (illustrated as afirst camera 380 and a second camera 382 in FIG. 3 ) may detect theportion 374 of the light 372 that reflects from one or more surfaces,such as a surface of the strobel 310 and a portion of the first surfaceregion 214 extending between the strobel 310 and the bite line 210, ofthe lasted upper 110. In the example of FIG. 3 , a second camera 382 hasbeen provided that also detects the light from the portion 374 of thelight 372 that reflects from the surface of the lasted upper 110. Theuse of more than one camera may provide a greater field of view suchthat if a portion of a surface to be captured is obscured from a firstcamera having a first perspective and location, a second camera having adifferent perspective and location may be effective for capturing theportion of surface obscured from the view of the first camera. As such,additional cameras may be utilized to supplement image data capturedfrom a first camera when the first camera is not conveniently located tocapture all portions of a surface desired to be captured. It is alsocontemplated, as illustrated, that the reflected portion 374 extendsbeyond the bite line 210 such that the reflected portion may beeffective for generating a surface map for portions of the lasted upper110 beyond the conditionally visible bite line 210 into the secondsurface region 212, in an exemplary aspect.

In aspects, each of the first camera 380 and the second camera 382 maybe utilized to detect the reflection of light from the surface of thelasted upper to develop a point cloud of the external surface(s). Apoint cloud is a collection of points in a coordinate system, such as athree-dimensional coordinate system represented by X, Y, and Zcoordinates (also referred to as x y z coordinates herein), thatrepresents points as identified on an external surface of the lastedupper. FIG. 14 hereinafter will depict an exemplary point cloudrepresenting a surface of a lasted upper in addition to athree-dimensional representation of a bite line as coordinated with thepoint cloud coordinates. In order to generate the point cloudrepresenting the external surfaces, images from both the first camera380 and the second camera 382 may be combined, utilizing a computingsystem (not shown), to generate the point cloud as a three-dimensionalsurface map of the lasted upper. The three-dimensional surface map maybe combined and coordinated with bite line data, such as the digitalbite line representation, generate a tool path for further processing ofthe shoe, as more fully described below. As will also be discussedherein, it is contemplated that the surface scan system generating thethree-dimensional surface scan and the digital bite line detectionsystem generating the digital bite line may be calibrated using one ormore known techniques, such as a multi-planar visual calibration tool.The calibration, in an exemplary aspect, allows for the computing systemto accurately merge the digital bite line data with thethree-dimensional surface scan data to form a representation of thelasted upper for purpose of generating a tool path. While two camerasare described in this example for generating the three-dimensionalsurface map as a point cloud, it is contemplated that a single imagingsource in combination with one or more structured lights may produce auseable three-dimensional surface mapping in an alternative aspect.

The light source 370 and/or the at least one camera 380, 382 maycomprise components of any surface imaging system that generates adigital representation, often utilizing computer software, based uponreflections 374 of the light 372 detected by the at least one camera380, 382. It is contemplated that the at least one camera 380, 382 maybe comprised of one or more filters, such as longpass, shortpass, orbandbass filters to selectively capture specific or ranges of lightenergy to further refine the process. For example, it is contemplatedthat the light source 370 and the at least one camera 380, 382 may beadapted to leverage a specific band of wavelength, such as infrared andspecial filters receptive to infrared wavelengths. Other surface imagingsystems, such as systems utilizing cameras without a light source orcontact systems that use one or more probes to physically engage asurface, may alternatively be used with systems and/or methods inaccordance herewith.

The light source 370 may be any suitable light source that provides adefined geometrical representation at a distance from the upper 110. Forexample, a slit lamp that produces a focused slit-like beam of lightfrom an otherwise unstructured light source may produce the projectedlight needed to specifically identify an intersection between the lightand the conditionally visible bite line 210. Another light source optionincludes a structured laser light source. A structured laser lightsource is a laser that projects a laser light in a structured lightpattern, such as a line. This structured line of light may be formed byallowing light in a specific plane to fan outwardly from the sourcewhile constraining the dispersion of light in all other directions toresult in a plane of light emanating from the structured laser source.When the plane of light contacts a surface, a laser line representationis formed having a focused nature and a controlled width perpendicularto the plane the light forms.

Light source 370 may comprise a laser line generator (e.g., laser microline generator or laser macro line generator) having various featuresand capabilities. Exemplary features comprise an adjustable fan angle;homogenous intensity distribution; constant line width (i.e., thicknessthroughout whole measuring area); adjustable width; adjustable spectralrange (e.g., 635 nm-980 nm); and adjustable power (e.g., up to 100 mW inthe visible range and up to 105 mW in the IR range). In one aspect,light source 370 may have a fan angle of 40 degrees, a line length of180 mm, a line width (i.e., thickness) of 0.108 mm, a working distanceof 245 mm, a Rayleigh Range of 12 mm, a focusing range of 205-510 mm,and a convergence of 0.7 degrees, for example.

Various aspects of light source 370 may be adjusted in coordination withshoe-part characteristics. For example, a color of laser beam may be setor adjusted based on a color of a shoe part. That is, certaincombinations of laser-beam color (e.g., wave length) and shoe-part colormay allow the projected laser line 374 to be better recorded using atleast one camera 380, 382. As such, the laser-beam color may be adjustedaccordingly based on a shoe-part color.

Moreover, power levels of light source 370 may be adjusted based on acolor of the shoe part. For example, a single laser may have anadjustable power setting, such that the single laser may be adjustedbased on shoe-part color. In another example, multiple lasers that havedifferent power levels may be interchangeably utilized based on a colorof the shoe part. In a further example, multiple lasers may be arrangedat a single station. In one aspect of the invention, a high-power lasermay be utilized when projecting a beam onto a shoe part that is coloredblack (or is non-white). In a further aspect of the invention, alow-power laser may be utilized when projecting a beam onto a shoe partthat is colored white. In a further aspect, multiple lasers may be usedat the same time when a part is multi-colored. For example, both ahigh-power laser and a low-power laser may project respective beams ontoa shoe part that is colored black and white. The at least one camera380, 382 is positioned to record an image of projected laser line 374.As such, the captured image depicts a representation of the projectedlaser line as it appears reflected across a portion of the lasted upper110.

While the figures and discussion herein describe the data setrepresentations as being a visual indication of the data, such as anactual point cloud surface map for the three-dimensional surface map ora three-dimensional line representing the digital bite line, it isunderstood that the data representation may not be visually depicted.For example, the data representations may merely be a mathematicalexpression, mathematical model, a series of coordinates, or othernon-visual representations of the data that are not necessarilygraphically depicted by a computing device or other means of manifestinga perceivable depiction of the data representations. However, forconvenience, a visual depiction of the different data representationsare depicted and described herein.

Referring now to FIG. 4 , one example of the scanning of at least thefirst surface region 214 of a lasted upper 110 using light 372 from astructured light source (e.g., a laser) is illustrated. A reflectedportion 374 of the projected light 372 is reflected by the surface ofthe lasted upper 110 in at least the first surface region 214 and aportion of the second surface region 212. In order to generate thethree-dimensional profile data to be utilized in conjunction with thebite line data to generate a tool path to process the lasted upper 110for bonding to a corresponding bottom unit by, for example, applying andadhesive to the lasted upper 110, only portions of the surface of theupper 110 that are substantially within the first surface region 214should be profiled, but the collected data should adequately cover thefirst surface region 214. Accordingly, systems and methods in accordanceherewith may generate a tool path based upon the bite line data and thethree-dimensional profile data (e.g., three-dimensional surface map,point cloud) of the surface of the first surface region 214. It iscontemplated that surface data for the second surface region 212 mayalso be captured and may be useable in calibrating, in an exemplaryaspect, the data provided by the digital bite line and thethree-dimensional surface map. In this example, the surface data for thesecond surface region 212 may not be utilized in the generation of thetool path, in an exemplary aspect.

Still referencing FIG. 4 , the lasted upper 110 may be moved relative tothe projected light 372, or the alternative is also contemplated suchthat the projected light 372 may be moved relative to the lasted upper110, such that at least the substantial entirety of at least the firstsurface region 214 of the lasted upper 110 is scanned. It iscontemplated that the intersection of the reflected portion 374 of thelight 372 and the bite line 210 may be detected along at least a portionof the bite line 210, which may be used to coordinate three-dimensionalsurface map data with bite line data, in an exemplary aspect. However,contours of the upper 110 may render portions of the bite line 210, andthus portions of the intersection of the bite line 210 with theprojected light 372, not visible to the at least one camera 380, 382. Insuch instances, the bite line data may be utilized to supplement thethree-dimensional profile data to extrapolate the appropriate tool path,as more fully described below and illustrated in connection with FIG. 16hereafter.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the portion 374 of the light 372 reflected from thesurface of the lasted upper 110 may intersect the bite line 210 at afirst point 415 and a second point 425. The segment defined by the firstpoint 415 and the second point 425 of the portion 374 of light 372reflected from the surface of the lasted upper 110 corresponds to asegment of the surface within the first surface region 214. It iscontemplated that the length and position of such segments may bedetermined by a computing system after combining data obtained from thethree-dimensional surface map (or based on data from thethree-dimensional surface map alone) and the digital bite line to helpdetermine a tool path. By recording three-dimensional cloud pointswithin at least a plurality of such segments as the lasted upper 110moves relative to the light 372 as indicated by line 430, arepresentation of substantially the entire surface within the firstsurface region 214 may be generated. However, as will be discussedhereinafter, it is contemplated that portions of the second surfaceregion may also be captured as part of the surface scan. It iscontemplated that the lasted upper 110 may move relative to a stationarylight source 370, that the light source 370 may move relative to thelasted upper, or that both the lasted upper 110 and the light source 370both move relative to each other to accomplish one or more of the scandiscussed herein. Of course, whether the lasted upper 110 or the lightsource 370 is moved may vary for different examples hereof.

Also depicted in FIG. 4 is an alternative portion 375 of reflected light372. Unlike the portion 374 that is positioned at a location at whichthe portion 374 intersects the bite line 210, the portion 375 is notperceived by a camera to intersect the bite line 210. The bite line 210may extend on a portion of the lasted upper that is obscured from thethree-dimensional surface scan components, as will be discussed in FIG.16 . This lack of intersection highlights an exemplary aspect for whichthe combination of digital bite line data and the three-dimensionalsurface map data is used to generate a tool path. For example, withoutsupplementing the three-dimensional scan data proximate the location ofthe portion 375, a resulting tool path may not be able to identify abite line position for which the tool path is to be bounded. Further, itis contemplated that the components utilized in capturing thethree-dimensional surface map may be ineffective (e.g., ineffectivelighting parameters) for identifying a conditional bite line regardlessif it is at the portion 374 where an intersection is able to beperceived or if it is at portion 374 where an intersection is not ableto be perceived with the bite line 210. Therefore, when the componentsutilized to capture the three-dimensional surface map data are noteffective at capturing the conditionally visible bite line, acombination of the digital bite line data with the three-dimensionalsurface map data is needed to generate a tool path within determinedtolerances.

Referring now to FIG. 5 , another example of using a light source thatprojects a light to scan at least the surface of the first surfaceregion 214 of the lasted upper 110 is illustrated. While the example ofFIG. 4 moves the lasted upper 110 relative to the light 372 in a linearfashion as indicated by arrow 430, in the example of FIG. 5 , the lastedupper 110 may be rotated as indicated by arrow 530 relative to the light372. Accordingly, the at-least one camera may detect the reflectedportion 374 of the light from the surface of the lasted upper 110 as thelasted upper 110 and/or the light source are rotated 530 relative to oneanother. The intersection of the reflected portion 374 of the light andthe bite line 210 may be determined/detected, in an exemplary aspect;however, it is optional as a separate bite line scan may be utilized toachieve a comprehensive identification of the conditionally visible biteline location. In the example illustrated in FIG. 5 , a segmentextending between a first intersection point 515 and a secondintersection point 525 may represent a small portion of the surface ofthe first surface region 214. By rotating the lasted upper 110 relativeto the light source 370, a plurality of such segments may be obtained toprovide a more complete representation of the surface region 214 inthree dimensions using one or more cameras 380, 382.

As discussed with respect to FIG. 4 , it is contemplated that one ormore portions of the bite line 210 may be obscured from thethree-dimensional surface mapping components, which illustrates afurther need, in an exemplary aspect, for a separate bite line datacollection. Further, as also contemplated above, the components used tocapture the three-dimensional surface map data may not be adapted tocapture a conditionally visible bite line, in an exemplary aspect.

Referring now to FIG. 6A, a tool path 610 may be generated to processthe surface of the lasted upper 110 within the first surface region 214bounded by the bite line 210 of the upper 110. In the exampleillustrated in FIG. 6A, the tool path 610 comprises a plurality ofsegments that process the perimeter of the first surface region 214while remaining within the interior of the bite line 210 and thenprocesses at least portions of the interior of the first surface region214. The tool path 610 may further represent the orientation of a toolin three-dimensional space relative to the surface of the first surfaceregion 214, for example, to maintain a spray nozzle, buffer, brush, orother tool at a particular angle relative to the surface of the firstsurface region 214. While a particular tool path 610 is depicted in FIG.6A, it is contemplated that alternative tool paths may be implemented toachieve a similarly bounded coverage area.

The tool path 610 may also include information describing additionaldegrees of movement and control, such as nozzle angle, nozzle distance,flow rate, and the like. For example, a tool path 610 may furthermaintain a spray nozzle at a substantially perpendicular angle to thesurface of the first surface region 214, such as between 80 and 100degrees. Further, the tool path 610 may comprise a relatively constantdistance or a varying distance from the surface of the lasted upper 110within the first surface region 214. For example, a brush, buffer, orother type of tool that physically contacts the surface of the lastedupper 110 may have its position in three-dimensional space vary tomaintain the tool and contact with the surface of the lasted upper 110within the first surface region 214. Other types of tools, however, suchas spray nozzles, may have an optimal distance or range of distancesfrom the surface of the lasted upper 110. Accordingly, a tool path 610may maintain such a tool at a particular distance, such as 1.0centimeter, or at a variety of distances based upon the degree ofcoverage desired, such as between 0.5 and 2.0 centimeters, for differentparts of a tool path 610. For example, if a spray nozzle is to be movedalong the tool path 610, the tool path 610 may maintain the spray nozzleat a first distance along the bite line 210 but at a second distancegreater than the first distance within the interior of the first surfaceregion 214. In such an example, the spray of adhesive may be moreprecisely controlled at the shorter first distance to prevent overspraywhile the spray may provide less dense but more extensive coverage atthe second greater distance. Numerous variations and different types oftool paths beyond the example tool path 610 illustrated in FIG. 6A maybe utilized without departing from the scope of aspects hereof.

FIGS. 6B-6D illustrate further examples of parameters that may be partof a tool path generated in accordance with aspects hereof. For example,a tool may be a spray nozzle 650 that sprays an adhesive 652 onto thesurface of the first surface region 214 of a lasted shoe upper. A toolpath may maintain a tool such as spray nozzle 650 at a distance and/orangle relative to the surface of a surface region 214 to be treated. Inthe example of FIG. 6B, the nozzle 650 has a first distance 660 whichproduces a first coverage surface region 655 for the sprayed adhesive652. In the further example of FIG. 6C, the nozzle 650 has a seconddistance 662 that is shorter than the first distance 660 and thatcorrespondingly produces a second coverage surface region 657 smallerthan the first coverage surface region 655. Of course, a tool such asthe nozzle 650 may be positioned at a variety of distances beyond thefirst distance 660 and the second distance 662 described in the presentexample. Further, a tool such as a nozzle 650 may be placed at positionsand/or orientations with various angles relative to the surface of thesurface region 214 to be treated. For example, as shown in FIG. 6D, anozzle may be placed in a first orientation 671 at a first angle 681perpendicular to the surface of the surface region 214 to be treated, ata second orientation 672 at a second angle 682 (obtuse in this example)relative to the surface of the surface region 214 to be treated, or at athird orientation 673 at a third angle 683 (acute in this example)relative to the surface of the surface region 214 to be treated.

Referring now to FIG. 7 , an example of the generation of a virtual biteline is illustrated. Additional disclosure directed to the capture of adigital bite line is provided in a concurrently filed application titled“Conditionally visible bite lines for footwear,” having U.S. applicationSer. No. 14/084,359, and now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,237,780, theentirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference. A lasted upper110 may be retained with a predetermined amount of force against arepresentation 130 of a corresponding bottom unit. A light source 730(such as a laser) may project a structured light 735 at the bite linedemarcated on the lasted upper 110. It is contemplated that thedemarcated bite line may be formed with a conditionally visible markingagent, such as an IR or UV responsive ink. As previously provided, theuse of a conditionally visible agent for demarcating the bite line mayprevent aesthetically distracting remnants of a demarcated bite linefrom being visible on a final shoe. Further, to prevent having thedemarcated bite line from being visible, an attempt may traditionallyhave been made to remove visible portions of the demarcated bite line,which may require additional resource that would not be needed whenusing a conditionally visible bite line.

A first light source 730 (e.g., a laser) projects light 735 such that aportion 734 of the light 735 projects across at least a portion of thesurface of the marked lasted upper 110. More particularly, at least aportion 734 of light 735 from the light source 730 may reflect from atleast a portion of the first surface region 214 and the second surfaceregion 212 of the surface of the marked lasted upper 110. The lightsource 730 may be any suitable light source that provides a definedgeometrical representation at a distance from the upper 110, such as astructured light like a laser.

In aspects hereof, the wavelength of the light 735 emitted from thelight source 730 renders the conditionally visible bite line 210detectable. For instance, if the conditionally visible bite line 210 ismarked utilizing an IR marking agent and the light source 730 is an IRlight source emitting light 735 in the IR spectrum, the light 735 fromthe light source 730 will render the conditionally visible bite line 210detectable at the intersection(s) of the light 735 and the bite line210, obviating the need for any additional source of light, asillustrated in current FIG. 7 . In other aspects, however, thewavelength of the light 735 emitted from the light source 730 does notrender the conditionally visible bite line 210 detectable. For instance,if the conditionally visible bite line 210 is marked utilizing afluorescent marking agent and the light 375 emitted from the lightsource 730 is not in the UV spectrum, the conditionally visible biteline 210 will not be detectable. In such aspects, an additional lightingsource may be needed to render the conditionally visible bite line 210detectable, such as a supplemental UV lamp. It is contemplated that anynumber of optional light sources may be implemented that provide anywavelength of light.

While the light 735 from the light source 730 is projected across atleast a portion of the lasted upper 110 to intersect with the bite line210 while the bite line 210 is rendered observable by the at least onelight source, at least one camera may capture an image of the lastedupper 110 and, more particularly, an intersection 715 between thereflected portion 734 of light 735 and the conditionally visible biteline 210. As illustrated in FIG. 7 , the at least one camera comprises afirst camera 710 and a second camera 720, and optionally may compriseadditional cameras (not shown), to capture the intersection 715 of thebite line 210 and the reflected portion 734 of the projected light 735.The use of at least a first camera 710 and a second camera 720 mayassist in accurately locating the intersection 715 of the bite line 210and the reflected portion 734 of the projected light 735. For example,it is contemplated that the at least one camera 710, 720 is comprised oftwo cameras to leverage the benefits of stereopsis that allows acomputing system to determine depth information from a pair ofconcurrently captured images from varied perspectives. The leveraging oftwo or more cameras from offset locations allows a computing system todetermine x y z coordinates for a given point, such as the intersection715.

As more fully described below, the intersection of the reflected light734 and the bite line 210 may be used to create a virtual bite line(i.e., a digital bite line) that aids in identifying the portion of thesurface of the lasted upper 110 within the first surface region 214 thatincludes a bottom portion 310 of the lasted upper 110 that is to betreated, for instance, by cementing, priming, cleaning, paining,buffing, and the like. For example, it is contemplated that one or morecomponents of the bite line scanning system may rotate around theperimeter of the lasted upper to capture data about the perimeter of thelasted upper. Alternatively, it is contemplated that the lasted upper ismoved or rotated about the bite line scanning system to achieve acapture of data about a perimeter of the lasted upper.

Referring now to FIG. 8 , a system for generating a tool path inaccordance with an aspect hereof is illustrated and designated generallyas reference numeral 800. The system 800 includes a bite line component810, a three-dimensional scanning component 820 and a tool 830 forprocessing a shoe part being processed. The bite line component 810facilitates the collection of bite line data on a shoe upper, the biteline data representing an interface between the shoe upper and acorresponding bottom unit upon assembly of the shoe. Various methods formarking a bite line and generating bite line data have been discussedherein. For instance, bite line data may be generating utilizing adigital stylus system to trace the bite line on a shoe upper temporarilyjoined to a representation of a corresponding bottom unit as describedin co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/647,511, entitled“Digital Bite Line Creation for Shoe Assembly,” which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety. Alternatively, bite line datamay be generated by marking the bite line with physical indicia andscanning the shoe upper to determine the intersection points of theindicia and a light source, as described hereinabove with respect toFIG. 7 . In aspects hereof, physical indicia may be marked withconditionally visible marking agents, for instance, fluorescent orinfrared marking agents, rendering the resulting bite line indiciadetectable only under specific lighting conditions. In such aspects, thebite line component 810 may include at least one light source 814 forscanning and/or rendering the bite line indicia detectable, and at leastone camera 812, which may represent multiple cameras, for taking imagesof the points of intersection of light from the at least one lightsource and the conditionally visible indicia demarcating the bite line.In particular aspects, a first camera and a second camera are utilizedto record images of the intersection points, the images from the twocameras being combined to generate the bite line data.

The three-dimensional scanning component 820 of the system 800 of FIG. 8facilitates the collection of three-dimensional profile data for atleast a portion of the shoe upper to be covered by the correspondingbottom unit upon assembly of the shoe. Various methods for collectingthree-dimensional profile data have been described herein. In particularaspects, at least one light source 816 and at least one camera 818 scanthe surface of the shoe upper covering at least a portion of the surfaceregion bounded by the bite line. Due to contours of the surface of theshoe upper, portions of the bite line, and thus portions of the shoeupper bounded by the bite line, may not be visible to at least onecamera imaging the shoe upper or the at least one camera is not adaptedto detect the bite line. Accordingly, in accordance with aspects hereof,the bite line data collected at the bite line component 810 is combinedwith the three-dimensional profile data collected at thethree-dimensional scanning component 820 in a computing system (notshown), to generate a tool path for further processing by the tool 830.As previously set forth, the tool may be a variety of tools designed toclean, buff, adhere, cement, etc. during processing of the shoe.

The configuration shown in FIG. 8 of the system 800 for processing ashoe part is merely an example of a configuration the system 800 maytake. Movement from one component of the system to another in FIG. 8 isvia a conveyor belt 840. However, the order of the components,particularly the bite line component 810 and the three-dimensionalscanning component 820, as well as the conveyance mechanism may varywithin the scope of aspects hereof. For instance, the shoe parts may beconveyed from component to component utilizing one or more robotsinstead of or in addition to a conveyance belt.

Additionally, while not explicitly depicted, it is contemplated that oneor more of the components of the bite line component 810, thethree-dimensional scanning component 820, and/or the tool 830 may moveto operate in multiple degrees of freedom. For example, as providedherein, it is contemplated that the components of the bite linecomponent 810 may move in a motion path about a shoe part. The motionpath may be elliptical in nature such that at least one foci of theelliptical pattern is positioned proximate a portion of the shoe upper.Additionally or alternatively, it is contemplated that the shoe partitself may be moved, such as rotated, relative to one or more componentsof the bite line component 810. Therefore, it is contemplated thatcomponents of the digital bite line component 810, such as the at leastone camera 812 and the at least one light 814 may be moveably mounted orfixedly mounted within the digital bite line component 810, in anexemplary aspect. Similarly, the at least one light source 816 and atleast one camera 818 may be moveably mounted or fixedly mounted withinthe three-dimensional scanning component 820 to achieve a desiredsurface scan.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate alternate system configurations that fallwithin the scope of aspects hereof. For example, a system 900 of FIG. 9relies on a multi-axes robotic arm as a conveyance mechanism between thebite line component 810 and the three-dimensional scanning component820. The tool 830 in FIG. 9 continues to be a multi-axial moving tool.In this example of FIG. 9 , it is contemplated that the multi-axisrobotic arm servicing both the bite line component 810 and thethree-dimensional scanning component 820 provides the degrees ofmovement desired to manipulate the shoe part about the variouscomponents of the bite line component 810 and the three-dimensionalscanning component 820 to achieve a sufficient bite line identificationand surface scan, in an exemplary aspect. For example, the at least onecamera 812 and light source 814 may be fixedly mounted within the biteline component 810 such that the robotic arm moves the shoe part inmultiple dimensions to capture the bite line representation about theperimeter of the shoe part.

A system 1000 of FIG. 10 relies on a common multi-axes robotic arm forconveyance from the bite line component 810, the three-dimensionalscanning component 820, and the tool 830. In this example, the tool 830is relatively static and processing by the tool relies on the movementoffered by the multi-axes robotic arm. Therefore, it is contemplatedthat a variety of conveyance mechanism and tooling options may beleveraged to accomplish aspects of the present invention. Similar toFIG. 9 , it is contemplated that the robotic arm provides the degree ofmovement necessary for each component to achieve an intended result,such as identification of a bite line and generation of a surface map.Therefore, the components of the bite line component 810, thethree-dimensional scanning component 820, and the tool 830 may befixedly coupled and the shoe is moved sufficiently about the componentsto achieve the results intended by the system, in an exemplary aspect.

Referring now to FIG. 11 , a method 1100 for generating a tool path isillustrated. In step 1110 bite line data may be collected. Bite linedata collected in step 1110 may represent a virtual bite line generatedusing a stylus, a light source (e.g., a laser) and cameras, or any othermethodology. In some examples, step 1110 may be performed by usingdesign data, pattern data, or typical data measured when a lasted shoeupper is retained against a corresponding bottom unit (or representationthereof) to create a digital bite line without applying a lasted upperto a bottom unit, for example as shown in FIG. 1 , but step 1110 mayalso be performed individually for each part or set of parts to beprocessed.

In step 1120 three-dimensional profile data representing at least aportion of the surface of a shoe upper bounded by the bite line may becollected. For example, a light source and at least one camera may beused to generate a three-dimensional data representation, such as apoint cloud, of at least a portion of the surface of a lasted upperbounded by the bite line. Alternatively, a camera alone, a contactprobe, or other mechanism may be used to generate a digitalrepresentation of the surface. Portions of the surface not bounded bythe bite line created in step 1110 may be disregarded, in exemplaryaspects, in generating the representation of the surface at least withinthe bite line. It is contemplated that the step 1120 may precede thestep 1110 in an exemplary aspect as the order of collecting the biteline data and the surface scan data may be varied. Further, in anexemplary aspect, it is contemplated that the bite line data and thesurface data may be obtained in a common operation by different orcommon components, in an exemplary aspect.

In step 1130, the bite line data and the three-dimensional profile datamay be combined to generate a tool path for further processing of theshoe upper, which may be generated based upon the combined data. Thetool path generated in step 1130 may assure that the surface is notprocessed outside of the digital bite line and may further maintain atool at a desired distance, orientation, or other status relative to thesurface. The tool path generated in step 1130 may vary at differentlocations along the path and within the surface region defined asbounded by the bite line. The tool path may include instructions for arobotic element to position a tool proximate various surface portions ofthe lasted upper, such as a bottom surface and portions of a side wallportion, in an exemplary aspect. In step 1140 the surface may be treatedfollowing the tool path. For example, step 1140 may comprise buffing thesurface, spraying an adhesive onto the surface using a nozzle, etc.

In order to accomplish aspects, such as the method provided in FIG. 11 ,it is contemplated that a system for processing partially assembledparts of an article of footwear includes a marking mechanism for markingphysical indicia on a shoe upper at a bite line. The indicia may bemarked with a conditionally visible marking agent, in an exemplaryaspect. The system may then leverage a light source that projects lightacross at least a portion of the marked bite line at an anglenon-parallel to the marked bite line. In order to capture theintersection of the light and the indicia, a first camera that records afirst series of images representing a plurality of points at which thelight intersects with the marked bite line and representing thereflection of the light off of the at least part of the portion of theshoe upper to be covered by the corresponding bottom unit upon assemblyof the shoe may be used. Further, to achieve depth information throughstereopsis, it is contemplated that a second camera that records asecond series of images representing the plurality of points at whichthe light intersects with the marked bite line may also be used. In thisexample, it is the use of two cameras that provides the dimensionalcoordinates necessary to develop a three-dimensional representation ofthe bite line. However, it is contemplated that variations in a knownstructured light as captured by a camera may also be used to determinethe coordinates necessary for developing a three dimensionalrepresentation, such as a point cloud of the lasted upper surface.Further, a computing system that processes the first and second seriesof images to generate bite line data may be integrated therein. Thecomputing system may also use additional images or the first and secondseries of images to further develop a three-dimensional profile data forthe shoe portion. Further, the computing system may take bite line dataand the three-dimensional profile data to generate a tool path forprocessing, such as an application of adhesive.

Referring now to FIG. 12 , a further example of a method 1200 forprocessing a shoe upper in accordance with the present invention isillustrated. In step 1210 a shoe upper may be lasted. As previouslydiscussed, the lasting of a shoe upper may include positioning a formwithin an internal cavity of the upper to provide structure and shaping.In step 1220 a sole assembly, such as a sole or a representation of asole, may be prepared. Preparation may include positioning the soleassembly for eventual mating to the lasted upper. Step 1210 and/or step1220 may combine multiple components to form an upper and/or a bottomunit. In step 1230 the lasted shoe upper and the corresponding soleassembly may be mated with a predetermined pressure/force to result in ajunction between the sole assembly and the lasted upper. In step 1240 abite line may be marked on the surface of the lasted shoe upper thatcorresponds to the termination of the mated sole assembly on the lastedshoe upper. This location of termination is a junction between the soleassembly and the lasted upper forming a guide to place the bite line.Step 1240 may utilize a stylus, a light source (e.g., a laser) and oneor more cameras, or any other system or process to mark indiciacomprising a bite line or a virtual bite line, which are used to createa digital bite line representing coordinates on the lasted upper at thejunction between the sole assembly and the lasted upper.

In step 1250 three-dimensional profile data representing at least theportion of the lasted shoe upper bounded by the bite line (andadditional portions in exemplary aspects) may be generated andcollected. The generated digital representation may be formed from anytype of input, such as a three-dimensional and/or a digital bite linescan. For example, the surface region bounded by the bite line on thelasted shoe upper may comprise a first surface region, and that firstsurface region may be scanned using a laser and at least one camera orother surface scanning techniques, some of which are described inexamples herein. In step 1260, the bite line data and thethree-dimensional profile data may be leveraged within a computingsystem to generate a tool path to treat at least a portion of the lastedshoe upper that is bounded by the bite line.

The tool path may be generated by software based on computer-aideddesign (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) concepts that takedata from the three-dimensional profile data and the digital bite linedata to determine appropriate aspects of the tool path (e.g., location,speed, angle, flow, etc.). For example, it is contemplated that thesoftware is provided information with respect to constraints associatedwith a desired process (e.g., application of adhesive). The constraintsmay include a desired coverage, applicator information, cycle timeconstraints, and other variable that are used in determining anappropriate tool path. The software then may take these inputs incombination with the three-dimensional profile data and the digital biteline data to develop an appropriate tool path that satisfies theprovided constraints while staying within the desired area bounded bythe digital bite line data, in an exemplary aspect. Finally, in step1270 at least a portion of the lasted shoe upper may be treated using atool following the tool path generated in step 1260, such as amulti-axis robot having an adhesive-applying tool head attached thereto.For example, constraints associated with the particular tool to be usedmay be provided to the software along with constraints associated withthe multi-axis robot such that the resulting tool path is specific tothe particular shoe upper to be processed, the tool doing theprocessing, and the robot controlling and moving the tool, in anexemplary aspect.

Referring now to FIG. 13 , a further exemplary method 1300 of generatinga tool path for processing a shoe upper in accordance with aspectshereof is illustrated. In step 1310 a lasted shoe upper may be retainedagainst a corresponding bottom unit (or representation thereof) bymating a lasted shoe upper and bottom unit with a predetermined amountof pressure. In step 1320 a bite line may be marked on the shoe upper bycreating indicia on the shoe upper. For example, step 1320 may apply amark to the shoe upper at the junction of the bottom unit (orrepresentation thereof) and the lasted shoe upper while mated with apredetermined amount of pressure. While a predetermined amount ofpressure is discussed, the amount of pressure may be a general amountsufficient to temporarily mate the bottom unit (e.g., sole assembly)with the lasted upper. In one aspect, the amount of pressure applied maybe approximately 30 kg/cm or more, for example. Step 1320 may use anink, a pencil, or a fluorescent, IR, or other conditionally visiblematerial, or any other way of forming perceptible indicia on the shoeupper. In step 1330 the lasted shoe upper and the sole assembly may beseparated. Step 1330 may permit the subsequent scanning and treatment ofthe surface region of the lasted shoe upper that was covered by thebottom unit (or representation thereof) when the bite line was createdin step 1320.

In step 1340 a light source (e.g., a laser) may be projected over atleast a portion of a bite line identifier, such as a conditionallyvisible bite line demarcation or indicia. Step 1340 may be performedusing lighting conditions that render a conditionally visible bite line,such as a bite line using fluorescent or IR marking agent, observableusing one or more cameras if a limited/conditionally visibility biteline was created in step 1320. In step 1350 the intersections of theprojected laser and the bite line may be recorded to generate bite linedata that represents the perimeter of the portion of the lasted shoeupper for which a tool path will be generated to correspond to theportion of the lasted shoe upper covered by the bottom unit (orrepresentation thereof) when the lasted shoe upper and bottom unit (orrepresentation thereof) were mated with the predetermined amount ofpressure.

In step 1360 three-dimensional profile data for the lasted shoe uppermay be collected (as more fully described above) and, in step 1370, thebite line data and the three-dimensional profile data may be combined.In step 1380 a tool path may be generated within the bite line to treatthe surface of the lasted shoe upper.

FIG. 14 is a depiction of a combined representation 1400 of athree-dimensional surface map (e.g., point cloud) representation 1402 ofa lasted upper surface combined with a three-dimensional digital biteline representation 1404. The three-dimensional surface maprepresentation 1402 is depicted as a dot pattern to represent identifiedpoints, such as cloud points. The three-dimensional digital bite linerepresentation 1404 is depicted as larger circular indicia. Asillustrated in this exemplary aspect, the three-dimensional digital biteline representation 1404 proximate a toe region 1406 extends beyond thedata represented by the three-dimensional surface map representation1402. As such, the combination of the two representations to form a toolpath is beneficial in at least this portion of the lasted upper as asingle representation alone may not provide sufficient information. Forexample, a portion of the lasted upper may obscure a portion of surfaceto be scanned based on the relative positioning of the components andthe lasted upper, as will be illustrated in FIG. 16 .

FIG. 15 is a graphical flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method1500 for capturing a three-dimensional point cloud representation of aportion of a lasted upper and a three-dimensional digital bite linerepresentation for use in generating a robotic tool path. At a step1502, bite line data is captured. As previously discussed, the captureof bite line data may be accomplished using a variety of techniques,such as scanning a conditionally visible marking with at least onevision system and a light source. For example, the conditionally visiblebite line may be formed with an IR material that is responsive to alight source, such as a laser operating in the IR spectrum. At anintersection of the light emitted by the light source and theconditionally visible bite line, indicia may be perceived by the visionsystem, which identifies a location of the bite line demarcation. Asalso provided herein, it is contemplated that the bite line data may becaptured by a stylus on a multi-axis dimensional measuring device thatrelies on physical contact between the multi-axis dimensional measuringdevice and the object to be measured, such as a lasted upper.

Step 1504 provides for the generation of a digital bite line. Acomputing system may convert the captured bite line data into athree-dimensional representation of points along the bite line. Thisthree-dimensional representation of the bite line captured from thelasted upper may be stored as a grouping of dimensional points that maybe input into a vision system software package for eventual generationof a tool path. It is contemplated that the generated digital bite linemay extend along one or more portions of the lasted upper, such asvarious distances along a side portion of the lasted upper and/or alongdifferent portions of the bottom (e.g., strobel board location whenusing a strobel construction) of the lasted upper.

Step 1506 provides for the capture of a three-dimensional surface datafrom a surface scan along at least a bottom portion of the lasted upper.As provided herein, it is contemplated that one or more cameras inconnection with one or more light sources that may be used in tandem todevelop a three-dimensional identification of the lasted uppersurface(s). As contemplated herein, a laser having a structured lightsource may traverse the lasted upper bottom portion while at least onecamera captures images of the lasted upper and laser light intersection.

Step 1508 generates a three-dimensional surface map of the lasted upper.As provided herein, an exemplary aspect contemplated allows for the datacaptured in step 1506 to be processed by a computing system to identifya plurality of points along the scanned surface to generate a pointcloud, such that the three-dimensional coordinates of points along thescanned surface may be determined relative to one another. In anexemplary aspect, a computing system adapted to operate a visionsoftware program interprets images captured from at least one camera todevelop the three-dimensional surface scan. The computing system may useinterpolation and other mathematical techniques to develop the resultingsurface map such that a more comprehensive surface map is formed from afinite number of data points along the surface region scanned.

Step 1510 combines data representing the digital bite line with datarepresenting the three-dimensional surface map to form a more completethree-dimensional model of the surface region on which a tool willtraverse for further processing, such as the application of an adhesive.As discussed previously, the combining of the data representations maybe accomplished by a computing system having software adapted forcombining the data representation. For example, vision software that maybe implemented to align the three-dimensional surface map data with thethree-dimensional digital bite line data. This alignment may beaccomplished, as is known in the art, based on a previously performedcalibration process that allows the computing system to align therelative coordinate positions from a first data set captured in a firstphysical location (e.g., the bite line scanning component) with therelative coordinate positions from a second data set captured in asecond, different, physical location (e.g., surface scanning component).The combined and aligned data from the different data representations isuseable to develop a model of the surface region that is to be processedby a created tool path. It is contemplated that the surface region mayinclude additional portions of the lasted upper beyond that which willbe processed by the tool following the tool path. As depicted in step1510, the data representing the digital bite line and the datarepresenting the three-dimensional surface map are joined into a commonrepresentation of the surface region for which a tool path will begenerated. As discussed above, while the figures and discussion refer tovisual depictions of the data representations, a visual model of thedata representations may not occur and in an exemplary aspect will notbe generated. Further, it is contemplated that the separate datarepresentations may not be actually merged into a common datarepresentation, but instead will be commonly referenced for thegeneration of the tool path, as provided in step 1512.

Step 1512 generates a tool path along the lasted upper based on thecombined data representation from step 1510. As discussed previously, itis contemplated that the tool path will allow a multi-axisrobotic-controlled tool to operate in multiple dimensions to process aportion of the lasted upper, such as applying an adhesive. In anexemplary aspect, the generated tool path for a lasted upper based onthe combined data representations extends along a bottom portion of thelasted upper as well along a sidewall portion of the lasted upper.Further, it is contemplated that the tool path may include additionalinstructions for the processing, such as application rate, speed, angle,and other characteristics that are useful in optimizing the processingstep to be performed by the tool path. The generated tool path may begenerated by a computing system having a program for leveraging the datarepresentations and predetermined criteria to develop an appropriatetool path. For example, the computing system may include one or morefiles describing a quantity of adhesive, preferred application rate,preferred speed, and other factors affecting the generation of a toolpath for an adhesive application.

Step 1514 depicts the execution of the tool path generated at the step1512. In this example, the tool path allows for the application of amaterial, such as an adhesive to the lasted upper within a surfaceregion bounded by the digital bite line. However, it is contemplatedthat additional/alternative processing may be performed by a generatedtool path that was generated based on one or more data representationsprovided herein. For example, stitching, buffing, cutting, painting,scoring, marking, and other processes performed in the construction of ashoe may be implemented in exemplary aspects. As provided herein, theapplication of material along the generated tool path may includecontrolling the speed, application rate, angle, and location of anadhesive applicator. The generated tool path may be translated intoactual movement by a multi-axis robot having an adhesive applicationsystem. An adhesive application system may be comprised of anapplication portion (e.g., spray nozzle) and the multi-axis robotfunctionally coupled with a computing system to process a generated toolpath for spatial movement and application of an adhesive to a portion ofan article of footwear.

While method 1500 depicts a specific sequence of steps, it iscontemplated that one or more steps may be rearranged while stilleffectively accomplishing a generated tool path for a subsequentprocessing of the lasted upper. For example, it is contemplated that theorder in which the bite line data is captured (step 1502), generation ofthe digital bite line (step 1504), capture of a three-dimensionalsurface scan (step 1506), and the generation of a three-dimensionalsurface map (step 1508) may be performed in any order and may beperformed in parallel as opposed to in a serial manner as depicted.Further, it is contemplated that additional steps may be included aswell as one or more steps may be omitted in an exemplary aspect.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view 1600 of an exemplary lasted upper 1604as captured by a bite line scanning system 1606 and a three-dimensionalscanning system 1608. In particular, the cross sectional view 1600illustrates how contours of the lasted upper 1604 as maintained by anexemplary last 1602 may obscure one or more portions of a surface regionfor which a tool path is to be generated. For example, the lasted upper1604 is formed with an apex 1610 as the lasted upper 1604 transitionsfrom a bottom surface, such as a strobel surface 1612, to a sidewallportion. As a result of the position of the three-dimensional scanningsystem 1608 relative to the lasted upper 1604, a portion 1614(identified by the region having circles) of the lasted upper 1604 isobscured from the field of view captured by the three-dimensionalscanning system 1608, as depicted by the dashed lines extending from atleast one camera of the three-dimensional scanning system 1608.

In this example, a bite line 1616 may be demarcated in the region 1614that is obscured from the three-dimensional scanning system 1608. As aresult of being obscured, a tool path to be generated may not havesufficient data from the three-dimensional scanning system 1608 to staywithin a region defined by the bite line 1616. Consequently, in anexemplary aspect, the bite line scanning system 1606 is relied on tocapture a different perspective of the lasted upper 1604 than thethree-dimensional scanning system 1608, as depicted by the dashed linesextending outwardly from the digital bite line system 1606 representingthe field of view of the digital bite line system 1606. In an exemplaryaspect, it is contemplated that the data acquired from the digital biteline system 1606 is used, in part, to define a boundary in which aninterpolation techniques may be used with data from thethree-dimensional scanning system 1608 to determine a surface in theobscured portion. Further, in another exemplary aspect, a datarepresentation from the digital bite line system 1606 may be combinedwith data from the three-dimensional scanning system 1608 to generate atool path including the obscured region 1614.

An alternative bite line 1618 is also depicted within the field of viewof both the three-dimensional scanning system 1608 and the digital biteline system 1606. In this example, it is contemplated that thethree-dimensional scanning system 1608 may not be adapted to capture tobite line data; therefore, the digital bite line system 1606 may againbe relied on to generate the digital bite line data representation. Forexample, if a conditionally visible bite line is used that is notperceptible to the three-dimensional scanning system 1608, the digitalbite line system 1606 may be used.

While the three-dimensional scanning system 1608 and the digital biteline system 1606 are depicted together, it is contemplated that thethree-dimensional scanning system 1608 may be in a first physicallocation that is independent from the digital bite line system 1606 suchthat a serial capture of data is performed at the different location.However, it is also contemplated that the three-dimensional scanningsystem 1608 and the digital bite line system 1606 may be positioned in acommon location for data collection without transferring the lastedupper 1604 from a first location to a second location, as contemplatedin FIGS. 8-10 herein.

Methods and/or systems in accordance herewith may use one or morecomputing systems executing computer-readable code retained in acomputer-readable memory to perform the appropriate steps and/or tocontrol the various components of systems in accordance with the presentinvention. Different steps in a process or method in accordance herewithmay occur at different locations and/or may be controlled by differentcomputing systems, and different components of a system in accordanceherewith may be controlled by different computing systems. For example,the creation of a virtual bite line may occur at a first station using afirst computing system, while the scanning of the surface of a lastedupper to collect three-dimensional profile data may occur at a secondstation and may be controlled by a second computing system.

Further, in some examples the corresponding bottom unit (orrepresentation thereof) that is used for marking a bite line, whetherdigital or comprising perceivable indicia, may be different than thebottom unit that is ultimately bonded to a given upper. In manyexamples, a bite line may be generated using the bottom unit that willultimately be bonded to the upper, but this is not necessary. Forexample, a representative bottom unit may be used at a station togenerate a bite line while a sole sufficiently similar at the bite lineto the representative bottom unit may ultimately be bonded to the upper.

Further, a variation in either the bottom unit used or the amount offorce used to mate a lasted upper to a corresponding bottom unit (orrepresentation thereof) may provide advantages in some examples ofsystems and methods in accordance herewith. For example, if a firstamount of predetermined force will be used in bonding a lasted upper toa corresponding bottom unit, a lesser or greater second amount of forcemay be used to retain the lasted upper to the corresponding bottom unitfor the marking of a bite line. In the example of a bottom unit thatcomprises a compressible foam material, such as in a midsole, the use ofless pressure in mating an upper to a bottom unit to create a bite linethan used in the bonding process may permit the bite line to readilyencompass all of the zone that will ultimately be covered by the solewhen the sole is bonded to the lasted upper. Similarly, a representativebottom unit that is softer or harder than the actual bottom unit may beused to mark a bite line defining a zone that is either larger orsmaller than the surface region ultimately covered by a bottom unitbonded to the upper.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one welladapted to attain all the ends and objects hereinabove set forthtogether with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherentto the structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are ofutility and may be employed without reference to other features andsubcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of theclaims.

Since many possible embodiments may be made of the invention withoutdeparting from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matterherein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for processing shoe parts, the systemcomprising: a marking mechanism operable for marking an indicia on ashoe upper at a bite line, the bite line substantially surrounding anarea on the shoe upper that is covered by a shoe bottom unit uponassembly of the shoe upper and the shoe bottom unit; a light source thatis operable to project light across the shoe upper and/or the shoebottom unit; a first camera that is operable to capture a first seriesof images depicting the light reflecting off of at least the bite linemarked by the indicia; a second camera that is operable to capture asecond series of images depicting the light reflecting off of at leastthe area that is covered by the shoe bottom unit upon assembly of theshoe upper and the shoe bottom unit, wherein the first camera and thesecond camera are oriented to capture images of the shoe upper fromdifferent perspectives; a computer system that is operable to generate atool path for processing the area of the shoe upper using the firstseries of images and the second series of images; and a manufacturingtool that is operable to apply a manufacturing process to the shoe upperusing the generated tool path, such that the manufacturing process isapplied to the area of the shoe upper that is substantially surroundedby the bite line.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the manufacturingtool comprises a multi-axis robot having an adhesive-applying tool head.3. The system of claim 1, wherein the marking mechanism uses aconditionally visible marking agent.
 4. The system of claim 3, whereinthe conditionally visible marking agent is visible when illuminated byan ultraviolet light spectrum.
 5. The system of claim 3, wherein theconditionally visible marking agent is visible when illuminated by aninfrared light spectrum.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the lightsource comprises a laser.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the firstcamera is positioned to capture images of a region of the shoe upperthat is obscured from the second camera.
 8. The system of claim 7,wherein the region comprises a recess along a sidewall portion of theshoe upper.
 9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a last thatsupports the shoe upper.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein themanufacturing tool is configured for adhesive application.
 11. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the manufacturing tool is configured forstitching.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the manufacturing tool isconfigured for buffing.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein themanufacturing tool is configured for cutting.
 14. The system of claim 1,wherein the manufacturing tool is configured for scoring.